GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Vassilios Moussas, Charalampos Kondis, Christina Grigoriadou and Konstantina Margariti, Moussas & Partners
The complaint need not specify the underly- ing legal provision of the lawsuit, owing to the principle of jura novit curia (the judge knows the law). However, it is standard practice that the applicable legal provisions are also laid out in detail in a lawsuit. The complaint should specify the relief sought – ie, whether monetary or non-monetary – with clarity and precision. As a general rule, the initial pleading may not be amended once filed, except for minor clarifications or amendments that do not alter the factual basis of the dispute. After the filing of the lawsuit, the plaintiff may limit the scope of the relief sought, or request the issu- ance of a declaratory judgment, through: • an oral declaration during the hearing; and/or • their written submissions, which are filed before the first hearing of the case. 3.5 Rules of Service Service in Greece is performed through a court bailiff, who is considered a public officer and instructed by the claimant to serve the lawsuit on the defendant. Service on a defendant residing or based abroad is conducted via a court bailiff serving the action on the Public Prosecutor in question (with an official translation). The date of service is rather crucial since, if the service of the claim has not been effectu- ated on the defendant in a timely manner, the claim is considered as never lodged. In general, the date of service is taken as when the claim has been physically delivered to the defend- ant or a suitable person (eg, a family member). Especially in case of service abroad through the Public Prosecutor channel (in its capacity as a transmitting authority), the Supreme Court by its decision no. 1181/2022 has accepted that a lawsuit is considered filed when the service is
performed within time limit to the Public Pros- ecutor (notional service), even if the actual ser- vice to the defendant abroad occurs beyond the deadline. This consideration is based on the fact that the time of actual service to the defendant is entirely outside the plaintiff’s control. However, the legal community is divided as to the proper date of service in cases of services abroad – ie, the date of service to the Public Prosecutor (notional service) or the date of actual service to the defendant abroad (actual service) – due to Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 2020/1784 on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters (service of documents) which provides for a certificate of completion upon completion of the formalities of the service. In ordinary proceedings, an action must be served to the defendant within: • 30 days of the date it was lodged; and • 60 days of the date it was lodged if the defendant or any co-defendant(s) either: (a) reside(s) abroad; or (b) are persons of unknown residence. In other proceedings, an action must be served to the defendant 30 days prior to the hearing date, or 60 days prior to the hearing date if the defendant or any co-defendant(s) either reside(s) abroad or are persons of unknown residence. 3.6 Failure to Respond If a defendant fails to respond to a lawsuit, even though that lawsuit has been duly served, they shall be treated as absent from the trial and the court shall issue a default judgment against them.
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